Projection Room: open for business at last - Prime Video, meet The Renata Road

 

Stills from The Renata Road courtesy of Beyond The Bar Ltd

Long-time readers of the blog - especially those who have been here from the UCLan days onwards - will likely remember a review of a film made here in the North West that for so long, has remained unreleased to those here in England. A film about a remote hotel where not all is as it seems, a film featuring a lead best known for his quizzing prowess back in the day on a certain BBC light entertainment programme, and a film that’s been a real passion project for all involved in front of and behind the camera. That film is of course, Ed Greenberg’s directorial debut, psychological thriller The Renata Road.

For the uninitiated, in 2016 I was told of the project through a friend of a friend in a foyer of a local cinema, as the print was being tested on actual projection/sound equipment, and before long, I was invited to an early preview screening of the film to write the first review - since then the blog’s been on the ride with the Beyond The Bar team, through the highs and the lows of taking an independently made, crowdfunded film from script to screen, something I’ve seen more in depth with the film production students I got to shadow back in 2018/19. Obviously we can’t reveal too much about the plot beyond what went in that original review - this is a film that has twists and turns at its core, but since the Kickstarter backers seen it, we’ve been a key part of the journey here at TheJackSmit.com - so much so that we’re featured in the international trailer. But today is a day I’ve been very, very, very excited for, purely because I get to type these words:

The Renata Road is now available on Amazon Prime Video in the UK.

Since we last updated you all on the film in 2022 following its world premiere in LA, and the subsequent US streaming release on Valentines Day last year, Richard Albiston and his team at The Cannon Film Company have worked their magic alongside Beyond The Bar to bring this film home, and with the folks at Burning Bulb, at long last the Renata is truly open for business. The film is out, it’s real, and now, at last, audiences can see it with their trusty Prime subscriptions.

Reading through the press kit, the film’s director says it best: “there’s been an increasing demand from the public these past years for more challenging content; for stories that make you think and look beyond the surface-level narrative. Films that inspire discussion and interpretation”. I hope audiences understand it as well as the two packed cinema screens I seen it with during the search for a distributor - as I said back then, it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is a distinctly Northern film that gets you talking. Which, in essence, is what a good film should do. But while today is a day of celebration, there is a small amount of sadness as it would be wrong not to mention a key part of the Renata family who isn’t here to see the big day - in 2019 production designer, set builder and all round top man Craig Priestley lost his battle with cancer. I had the honour of meeting him in the summer of 2018, playing many board games with him, and quite rightly, the film is dedicated to his memory. If anything, the last few years covering this film has shown how much of a family this industry can create.

A huge thanks to the teams at Beyond The Bar, The Cannon Film Company and all involved in the production of The Renata Road for their support in TheJackSmit.com coverage of the film over the years.